Winbang

Winbang provides Nix-like shebang support for Windows. This program makes it possible to execute scripts without needing to specify the interpreter in the command line and without the need for file extensions. It uses the shebang line to determine the interpreter to use, and it can also handle file associations based on file extensions.

When run from a command prompt, it will always attempt to execute the script. When run from a GUI such as explorer.exe, it will by default prompt the user for an action.

This program is extensible and can be configured to associate files by extension or by shebang line, and allowing for shebang runtimes to effectively be proxied. Such as #!/bin/bash being proxied to C:\msys64\msys2_shell.cmd with the appropriate arguments.

NOTICE

If a file association does not exist in the config it will attempt to find the interpreter in PATH. A prompt for action is shown by default when launched from a GUI shell, disabling this behavior could lead to an increased security risk. The user is responsible for ensuring that files are correct and safe to execute.

env shebangs are supported, but env itself is ignored and the optional argument is used as the interpreter. For example, #!/usr/bin/env python3 will be interpreted as python3.

Setup

EXAMPLE CONFIG

%PROGRAMDATA%/Winbang/config.toml or %APPDATA%/Winbang/config.toml

The configuration files will not merge, only one will be used. If allow_user_config is set to true in the %PROGRAMDATA% config, then the user config will be used. If not, the %PROGRAMDATA% config will be used.

# allow_user_config = true              # Optional, default is false, only valid in %PROGRAMDATA% config.
# List of GUI shells to use when launching files in GUI mode
gui_shells = ["explorer.exe", "dopus.exe"]

# Default operation if no file association matches
default_operation = "prompt"            # Optional, default: "prompt", only affects when launched via GUI.

[default]
# Viewer used for regular files
view_runtime = "code"
#args = "$script"

[default_large]
# Viewer used for large files (>= 5MB)
size_mb_threshold = 5
view_runtime = "notepad++"
#args = "$script"

# [[file_associations]]
# exec_runtime = "deno"                 # Required
# view_runtime = "code"                 # Optional
# shebang_interpreter = "deno"          # Optional
# extension = ".ts"                     # Optional
# exec_argv_override = "run @{script}"  # Optional

# File associations
[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "python"
view_runtime = "thonny"
shebang_interpreter = "python"
extension = "py"

[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "ruby"
view_runtime = "code"
shebang_interpreter = "ruby"
extension = "rb"
default_operation = "prompt"


[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "C:\\msys64\\msys2_shell.cmd"
view_runtime = "code"
shebang_interpreter = "bash"
extension = "sh"
exec_argv_override = "-defterm -here -no-start -ucrt64 -shell bash -c \"$(cygpath -u @{script_unix})\""

[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "zsh"
shebang_interpreter = "zsh"
extension = "sh"
default_operation = "execute"

[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "deno"
extension = "ts"
shebang_interpreter = "deno"
exec_argv_override = "run -A @{script}"

[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "node"
shebang_interpreter = "node"
extension = "js"

[[file_associations]]
exec_runtime = "perl"
view_runtime = "runemacs"
shebang_interpreter = "perl"
extension = "pl"

exec_argv_override will expand the following special variables:

• @{script}: The full script file path with double-backslashes (e.g., C:\\Users\\username\\test.sh).
• @{script_unix}: The script file path with forward slashes (e.g., C:/Users/username/test.sh).

EXTENSIONLESS FILE ASSOCIATION

This step is needed to unlock the full potential of this application. Allowing for a Nix like file experience making file extensions much less important and taking advantage of standard shebang lines and shebang-like lines.

1. Run in an elevated command prompt:

assoc .="No Extension"
ftype "No Extension"=^"^%PROGRAMFILES%\Winbang\winbang.exe^" "%1"
assoc "No Extension"\DefaultIcon=%SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll,-68

DefaultIcon imageres.dll indexes:

• 15 application icon
• 68 script icon
• 102 file icon

2. Restart computer.

Example/Test Files

Deno Script

#!/usr/bin/env deno

async function main() {
    console.log("Hello from Deno!");

    const fileName = "test.txt";

    try {
        await Deno.writeTextFile(fileName, "Hello from Deno!");
        console.log(`File ${fileName} created successfully.`);
    }
    catch (error) {
        console.error(`Failed to create file ${fileName}:`, error);
    }

    const promptExit = prompt("Press Enter to exit...");
}

main();

Ruby Script

#!/usr/bin/env ruby
puts "Hello from Ruby!"

File.open("test.txt", "w") do |file|
  file.write("Hello from Ruby!")
end

puts "Press Enter to exit..."
STDIN.gets